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Wrongful Deaths in Public Pools and Community Areas

A personal injury attorney will occasionally come across cases that aren’t just injuries but are injuries that resulted in a death. When it comes to pools and other community areas, these deaths are often the most shocking because it is one of those situations that can change in just a few moments. We understand that you’re grieving and that legal action may not be a choice, but something you need to move forward with to cover the medical debt that accrued while the victim was fighting for their life.

Public pools and other community areas pose unique risks to everyone involved, and many don’t realize the full extent of those risks until it is too late. If you’re involved in a swimming pool accident, contact our Cincinnati wrongful death attorneys today.

Know the Facts for Unintentional Drowning

Drowning is among the top causes of death among children. The CDC estimates that about an average of 10 people drown per day, although those deaths are concentrated in certain seasons that revolve around water usage. About half of all drowning victims require hospitalization, which when compared to the 6% that require hospitalization after any other type of unintentional injury, it’s a stark contrast.

The facts surrounding unintentional drowning are always startling and disheartening because many only find out after you lose someone to poor water safety.

Children and Adults Require Care

Drowning, even partial drowning that doesn’t result in death, can very likely lead to serious brain damage that requires lifelong care. Brain damage can result in the loss of basic functions of the brain, learning disabilities, memory problems, and loss of particular functions such as hearing or speech.

But the best way to combat this and the risk of unintentional drowning is to stay safe around the pool. That means no running or horseplay. It also means having a dedicated “watcher” who can sit and watch the children in the water as they play. Although it seems like children are the only ones that need watching, it is possible for adults to drown too, and a watcher can drastically reduce that risk.

One of the often forgotten risks is dry drowning or medically referred to as pulmonary edema that results from fluid in the lungs. However, these risks are significantly reduced when compared to other risks of drowning. Secondary drowning or dry drowning only accounts for 1 or 2% of all drownings. That could make it exceptionally hard if your family experienced this situation.

Getting Support After an Unexpected Death

An unexpected death can certainly rock a family. When you consider that one-fifth of all drowning deaths are children under the age of 14, it becomes even worse. Grieving is always a challenge, and grieving for a child is even more difficult for a family.

After a sudden death, you should consider building or extending your support system. Your family and friends, no doubt, will gather around you to offer emotional support. But, you’re going to need more than that in order to get some closure on what happened. You may need to work with the wrongful death attorney to hold the responsible party as a liable for all the damages that resulted from this death.

Who is Liable?

Any unexpected death quickly turns into a blame game. One parent or one adult will blame another, and in the end, there’s nothing that comes from that. A better way to approach blame is to look at clear liability. Liability is different numbering because you’re looking at who owed the deceased a clear duty of care.

When in a public pool, the liability may fall to the owner of the property or even the city if they failed to provide a qualified lifeguard. In other communities, places the liability may fall to a private security company or another entity that was given responsibility for protecting the people in that area.

Can a Wrongful Death Attorney Help Your Claim?

After any death, particularly that of a child or teen, it is incredibly difficult for the parent to see past the end of the day. Much less can they sit down and plan through weeks and weeks of legal exchanges and negotiations. We understand that you want the process to be fair, but also, as quickly as possible.

At Young, Reverman, and Mazzei, our teams explore all of the options available and assess what we believe is the best choice moving forward. Then we’ll discuss those options with you, and we can jump into the expectations and desired outcome. That way, we can work on everything in between while and your family take the time you need to grieve.

Jay A. Bolotin is a partner at the injury law firm of Young, Reverman & Bolotin. Serving the people of Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, Jay dedicates his career to helping clients in the tri-state area obtain financial compensation after suffering serious injuries. He focuses his practice on cases involving car accidents, trucking accidents, dog bites and animal attacks, and other types of personal injury incidents.

Years of Experience: More than 25 years
Registration Status:: Active
Bar Admissions: Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Cincinati Bar Association